Braddon

Braddon is the inner-north playground that turned Canberra's old industrial strip into the city's busiest food and drink precinct. Lonsdale Street is the spine, lined with rooftop bars, specialty coffee, Mexican, Korean, ramen and a steady drip of new openings. Mort Street and Elouera Street pull the local-shopping crowd with independent fashion, homewares and barbers. It's walkable from Civic, well served by the light rail, and the laneways make it one of the few Canberra suburbs where you can wander without a plan and still land somewhere worth sitting down. Weekends bring crowds spilling onto the footpaths, while weekday mornings belong to the freelancers and government workers parked at long communal tables. Expect queues at the breakfast favourites and a friendly hum across the bars from Thursday onwards.

• Lonsdale Street bars
• Specialty coffee
• Streetwear & homewares
• Late-night eats